-No Logo Response-

Culture Jamming, sound familiar? Not to me, at least before reading sections of Naomi Klein's book, No Logo. I now know that culture jamming is a term revolving around the idea of breaking up mass culture, mostly in advertising, by distorting advertisements. Her book encompasses the universal truths in the advertising business and how culture jamming fits into the world of advertising. The two key ideas that I found to be intriguing in No Logo were, first the idea of culture jamming and how it is used, and second the idea of of culture jamming and "Adbusters" becoming its own brand and its own advertisement

The first idea, of culture jamming and how it is used, is very interesting. Klein explains that culture jamming is not a new idea and that it has been around for a long time. She uses the example that in the 1930's the American public was so upset with the consumeristic society that they used "toucher-uppers" to disfigure ads that displayed items/ideas that they viewed as unrealistic and had resentment toward. Culture Jamming today is seen everywhere, advertisements (that the culture jammers changed), commercials (TRUTH:anti-smoking commercials), on the Internet, and any other place people can share their ideas. Today culture jamming is easier with the current technology; with programs like photo-shop disfiguring ads and making them look very believable, as in they could have been made that way, is not too difficult for some culture jammers. Klein states, "Rodriguez de Gerada's messages are designed to mesh with their targets, borrowing visual legitimacy from advertising itself. Many of his "edits" have been so successfully integrated that the altered billboards look like the originals, though with a message that takes viewers by surprise." I believe that statement is critical in grasping that with today's technology culture jamming could have even more of an effect because people may have to THINK, they may have to actually ask themselves, "is that real, is that what I'm seeing?" and maybe they may uncover some truth that they did not see before.

The second idea that I found in Kleins book, No Logo, was the idea that culture jamming and "adbusters" was becoming in itself a brand and an advertisement. In, No Logo, it explains that their are produced t-shirts, key chains, calenders, coffee mugs, everything devoted to ad busting, when the point of culture jamming was not to become its own advertisement, but to literally BUST others! She explains that the magazine "Adbusters," has been criticized by others saying that it has been turned into a, " home-shopping network for adbusting accessories." I found this humerus because to me it is going away and taking away from everything culture jamming stands for!

In conclusion, No Logo was a very informative reading that made me start to look more critically at advertisements. The points that I found most interesting were revolved around what culture jamming is today and where it was in the early 1900s and the idea of culture jamming as its own brand, going up against everything it believes.